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FAT TUESDAY

If there was ever a great reason to invite friends over for an absolutely decadent meal, it’s Fat or Shrove Tuesday, and Pancake Day.

Fat Tuesday is considered to be the traditional name for the day before Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent is more commonly known as Mardi Gras, which is simply Fat Tuesday in French.

It gets its name from the custom, in many Catholic countries, of marking the day with feasting before the fasting season of Lent begins.

The official party starts on January 6, the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany, when the three kings are supposed to have visited baby Jesus, and builds up to a Mardi Gras climax, or Fat Tuesday, which always occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday. The annual parties and colorful parades continue until Lent begins exactly at midnight on Tuesday/Wednesday.

Mardi Gras is scheduled to occur 46 days before Easter. Since the actual date Easter occurs on changes yearly, Mardi Gras can happen on any Tuesday between February 3 and March 9.

For centuries this has been an annual event in New Orleans. Let those eating disorders begin?

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